Filmed in high definition video, Sharkwater explores the densest shark populations in the world, exposing the exploitation and corruption of the shark-hunting industry in the marine reserves of Cocos Island, Costa Rica and the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador.
Filmmaker Rob Stewart travels with Paul Watson and his Sea Shepherd Conservation Society ship as they confront shark poachers in Guatemala and Costa Rica. Among the group’s experiences are boat chases with poachers and police, boat ramming, hidden camera footage of massive shark finning facilities, corrupt court systems and eventually attempted murder charges which force Stewart and Watson to flee from the police. Stewart explores how the increasing demand for shark-fin soup in Asia is fueling an illegal trade in sharks. His expedition is cut short, however, when he is diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis (from which he recovers).
Stewart discovers that sharks have gone from predator to prey, and how despite surviving the Earth’s history of mass extinctions, as well as being a predator that prevents the overconsumption of plankton by other fish, moderating global warming, they could easily be wiped out within a few years.